Ruud explains the extent of his injury: "ATP rules force you to compete injured"
The Norwegian shows sadness about what happened at Roland Garros 2025 and surprises by revealing what his physical issue is and when he started feeling it.
Suffering an injury is never pleasant, especially not during a Grand Slam where one is considered a candidate for important achievements. Casper Ruud has been eliminated from Roland Garros 2025 due to a physical issue that had been lingering for longer than imaginable and worsened during his match against Nuno Borges. This was explained by Ruud himself during a press conference.
Fresh off his victory in Madrid, an accomplished clay court specialist, two-time finalist in this tournament, and overall, one of the players to watch closely in this Roland Garros 2025. Expectations surrounding Casper Ruud were high, but everything dissolved due to an untimely injury during his second-round match against Nuno Borges. His statements in the press conference revealed the root of the problem and its potential consequences.
- Ruud mentioned that he had already felt this issue in Montecarlo and had been managing it as best as he could
"Hopefully, it's nothing serious. For about two weeks, I've been experiencing pain in my left knee, which I could manage during training, but it worsened during matches because it's challenging to control your movements at this level of intensity. I decided to withdraw from the Geneva tournament to see if it improved, but it didn't," said the Norwegian. "I have the results of an MRI I had in Montecarlo, where I first felt it. There wasn't any structural issue, just some fluid accumulation due to inflammation. I chose to move forward with anti-inflammatories and painkillers because this tour is crucial for me. There were moments when it improved, but today, a specific movement caused it to worsen significantly," he stated.
At all times, he wanted to give credit to Nuno Borges for the quality of tennis displayed, but it was evident that Casper Ruud was not in top form. "I've had ups and downs for months; this is not what I expected for my Paris campaign, honestly. It's regrettable, quite disappointing because I've rarely had to deal with pain or physical issues on the court. I felt like I could go far in this tournament, but there are many other players performing at a high level," he commented.
- Difficulty in stopping to recover due to ATP rules
"Dealing with such an issue is complicated because you're required to play certain tournaments, and if you take a break, the consequences on the ranking are severe. These months were crucial for my season, and there are significant penalties if you skip tournaments, both in terms of sports performance and financially. You're forced to compete, even when injured, which I don't think is very fair. I just hope to rest and be able to stop taking painkillers," stated Casper Ruud, who left open the possibility of skipping the entire grass season to fully recover from this problem.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Ruud explica el alcance de su lesión: "Las normas de la ATP hacen que te veas forzado a competir lesionado"